


Magic (year 1)

by orphan_account



Series: Hogwarts Mcyt Au (Skephalo centric) [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Grrrr, Harry Potter AU, M/M, Skephalo, Slow Burn, Use of Real Names, hufflepuff bbh, man why do I keep getting more long ass stories, nicknames too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:29:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27754624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Hogwarts Au! Mostly Darryl P.O.V and it's gonna be eventual Skephalo + other ships
Relationships: Karl Jacobs/Sapnap, Zak Ahmed & Darryl Noveschosch, Zak Ahmed/Darryl Noveschosch, dreamnotfound - Relationship, will add more - Relationship
Series: Hogwarts Mcyt Au (Skephalo centric) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032951
Comments: 87
Kudos: 204





	1. Chapter 1

Darryl's eyes darted around nervously as he pushed his large cart filled with items down the station, looking for station 3/4 quarters as his mother instructed him too. He was a first year going to Hogwarts, no siblings or friends going with him.  
His mother dropped him off and left, busy with her own job. He knew what to do but he was just so afraid of being alone since it's not something he's use too. 

His bird Strawberry squawked, bringing him back to his senses and calming him down just a little bit. "Right sorry Strawberry... Sorry, I'm just a little scared." He cooed at the bird who tilted her head at him. He's had strawberry for awhile now, he also has a dog at home but he needed a bird for letters, not a dog, at least not this year. It saddened him but at least he had something that reminded him of his mother.  
He shook his head and spotted the brick wall between station 3 and station 4, this is the spot.

His mother told him to just rush right through and not to be afraid, even though he's constantly afraid. He sighed and glanced around, feeling his anxiety kick in again.  
Just before he could run head first into a wall, he saw someone else go in. He only caught a glimpse of them, they had messy dirty blonde hair and looked just slightly shorter than him.  
Once he saw that they got through just fine he took his own shot at it, running full speed and bracing himself for an impact that never came, luckily.

Instead he was met with a train that was definitely not there moments prior, and many many kids his age, older ones as well. They were all boarding a train and he knew he was here. He sighed and pushed his cart towards the train, spotting the dirty blonde male again.  
He wasn't sure what to do so he just followed whatever this boy did since he seemed to know what he was doing. 

The boy carried his own wand as well as a piece of luggage onto the train, the rest of his things being hauled away by what he assumed were people who worked here.  
So Darryl did the same, grabbing Strawberry by her cage and picking out his luggage that held his books, tucking his wand into his pocket. The rest of his things were taken and he entered the train, the first booth seemed completely filled up so he didn't bother and instead went a couple booths back where he knew would be empty. 

He felt awkward, as if he didn't belong here since there were already so many friend groups made. What if he's alone all year long? "Hey! Wanna sit with me?" A voice called out, he looked around and pointed at himself confused once he saw the same dirty blonde from earlier. "Me?" He asked incredulously, why would anyone want to sit with *him* Darryl thought bitterly to himself. 

"Well I don't see anyone else around so yeah, you!" He laughed and pointed at the seat across from him. Darryl gulped and walked over, setting Strawberry on the table and putting his luggage on the carrier above them.

"Hi! My name's Karl Jacobs and I'm a first year. What's your name?" He held a hand out and had a cheeky smile. Darryl grabbed his hand and shook it happily. "My name's Darryl Noveschosch, I'm also a first year." He was glad he found someone his age who was so nice. 

"I hope we can be friends, I dont really have any friends at the moment." Karl frowned as he spoke, drawing out designs on the table with his finger lazily. Then he glanced up and saw the bright red Parrot which almost resembled a Phoenix. "Is this your pet? It looks so cool!" He gushed excitedly. 

Darryl held his own hand, getting shy all of a sudden. "Uh yeah kinda! She belonged to my mom but she was passed down to me, her name is Strawberry! Do you have a pet?" Darryl didn't like taking about himself, it felt rude.  
Karl nodded estatically "yup!" He grabbed something off his lap and plopped it onto the table, Darryl hadn't even noticed it on his lap moments prior. "This is my hedgehog sonic!... Wait are you muggle born? Or?" Karl trailed off, realizing that Darryl probably doesn't know what sonic is. 

"Oh uh my mother is a witch, my father is a muggle I think, so I'm a half-blood. Don't worry I know what some things are, like sonic!" Darryl explained, Karl's face lit up. "Oh! That's good! I'm a muggleborn, both my parents are muggles but I don't think that matters." Karl had already faced some,,, not so pleasent people so he was glad to hear that Darryl was half- almost like him. 

"Hey, is this seat taken?" A boy asked, he had dark brown hair, there was a boy behind him with dark brown hair as well. Though they looked considerably different. "No, you two can sit here if you want." Karl offered, noticing that Darryl was a bit nervous with chatting with new people.

They smiled and sat, the shorter one sat next to Karl, the taller sat next to Darryl. "My name is Karl, and this-" Karl pointed across from him. "Is Darryl! What are your names?" He asked politely.  
"My name is Nick." The tall one replied. "But I prefer if you call me Sapnap." He said with a small nod.

"My name is George, cool pets." He said after introducing himself, eyeing the hedgehog and parrot happily. "Thanks." Darryl replied, realizing 'wow I just made friends?' maybe this would be easier than he thought. 

"My pet is a dog, he's off in another booth though." George hummed. "Oh my pet is a salamander, I wanted a panda but my mom wouldn't let me." Sapnap laughed and Darryl finally let his nerves wash away, laughing along with the group.

Two boys walked past them, causing Sapnap to roll his eyes and George stopped laughing. Darryl tilted his head in confusion and Karl stopped laughing as well. "Ugh that was Dream and Skeppy.. I mean Clay and Zak." George corrected himself, seemingly annoyed that he called them by their nicknames.  
"We used to be friends with em' but then when they found out we're half-bloods they suddenly disappeared into thin air! And acted like we don't even exist." Sapnap seethed, biting his tongue in annoyance. 

Darryl frowned feeling bad for the two of them. "Well we can all be friends, Karl is muggle-born and I'm a half-blood so we won't ever leave over something like that... They sound like mean muffins!" Darryl said, trying to cheer them up. He was successful since the three boys started laughing.  
"Muffin?" George asked through giggles. 

"Well! They're muffin heads!" They all laughed harder and Darryl covered his mouth since they were making him laugh too. 

***  
The boys had fun chatting and playing with their pets, George's dog eventually found him and jumped up onto his lap.  
A cart pulled up next to them "would you boys like to buy any snacks?" A woman asked, the cart filled to the brim with goodies. 

"Yes please! You guys pick out whatever you want, I can pay." Darryl offered, causing the others to raise their brows. "Really? You sure?" Sapnap asked, the others agreeing with him, skeptically.  
"Yeah! I hope this is enough thanks for you guys becoming my friends?" Darryl laughed awkwardly, hoping they wouldn't say otherwise. 

"Okay, but we'll repay you for this cause you don't need to thank us." Karl replied, grabbing some stuff from the cart, the other three following soon after. Darryl sifted through his pocket and pulled out the gold coins, handing them over to the lady, including a tip.  
"Thank you!" He smiled and waved, she nodded and went to the next table. 

"I feel like you're going to be a Hufflepuff." Sapnap said with a full mouth, munching on the chocolates. "Ah my mom said that too." Darryl said, chewing his food first before speaking. "I think George will be a Gryffindor, and Karl maybe a ravenclaw... I know I'm going to be a Gryffindor!" Sapnap said proudly, finally swallowing the snacks.  
Karl shook his head "no no, I think imma be a Gryffindor!" 

Darryl frowned, what if they all get the same house except for him? Then he'll really be alone. He got quiet and listened to them speak about who would be what. 

***  
The three boys had changed from their previous clothes into school robes by now, they were told they'd be at the school in less than an hour, finally. Darryl was only getting more an more anxious, Strawberry was quick to notice and was chirping at him every now and then to keep him focused on other things. He hummed quietly to himself, humming a song his mother always sang when he got anxiety. 

"We're here, c'mon let's go!" Sapnap's energetic shout took him out of his thoughts, standing up and taking his things with them. Sapnap and Karl were able to carry their pets with them since they were smaller but Darryl and George had to put theirs on a separate boat. They also put their luggage away as well. 

Darryl was beyond nervous, his eyesight felt blurry even if he could see just fine. He was hyperventilating and clutched on the person nearest to him, Karl. Karl took notice of his state and wrapped an arm around him to guide him safely to the boats. "Heyyy Darryl, are you ok? We're gonna take a quick boat ride and it'll all be over soon! Ok?" Karl rubbed his arm comfortingly and Darryl nodded shyly. "Thanks Karl." He mumbled, embarrassed that he's getting like this in front of his friend. 

Luckily, the boat ride managed to calm him down. The castle was huge and the lagoon was huge and everything was HUGE. Sure it made him feel tiny but also comforted him, for some reason.

Now all the students were being led into the dining hall, all the 2nd through 7th years sat at a specified table with their house on it. This is where they would get sorted, he remembered the story his mother told him. How she got Ravenclaw and how nervous she was but how happy she ended up.  
He hopes he gets to be happy. 

The group of four sat near each other, knowing they would go at different times but enjoying being near each other now.  
"I'll be the first of us four going first so I expect you guys to shout loud for me!" George said with a chipper voice, grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah yeah we will, then I should be after you, then Karl... Then Darryl, we'll shout for you even if we don't end up in the same house! Ok?" Sapnap said pointing at each person accordingly, everyone nodded in agreement. 

It all went by slow, Darryl didn't pay much attention. That was until he heard  
"Zak Ahmed" get called, he glanced up and noticed it was the boy from earlier, the muffin head. George and Sapnap scowled and glared. 

"SLYTHERIN." the sorting hat screamed, just after a couple seconds of being placed on Zak's head. Darryl shivered, it gave him a bad feeling for some reason.  
A ton more kids went up, some names that Darryl remembered like..., Arran, Finn, Anthony, Link, those names just stood out to him for some reason.

George was the first to go up from their group, it took oddly long for him to get sorted. "RAVENCLAW." the hat shouted, Darryl, Karl, and Sapnap all starting shouting for George. Sapnap seemed a bit surprised he wasn't Gryffindor but was still super supportive.

The next after George was Sapnap, the hat was quicker than it had been with George. "GRYFFINDOR." Karl and Darryl cheered for him, George had as well from his spot on the Ravenclaw table. 

Then Karl went up, causing Darryl to frown since he was all alone. The hat took even longer with Karl than it had George. Karl was shaking his head a lot, even opening his eyes and glancing down at Darryl with a frown. Then looking over at Sapnap and George for a moment before the hat finally decided. "HUFFLEPUFF." 

Darryl felt relieved for some reason. He knew he wouldn't be getting Slytherin, so he would 100% end up in a house with one of his friends. 

The inevitable eventually came and his turn was up. He walked up with wobbly legs and almost fainted when he sat down and saw all the eyes on him. The hat was placed on his head and it was heavier than he expected. 

He could hear it in his mind.

"Why so anxious?" It asked curiously. He gulped and tugged at his oversized robes.  
"I'm scared of being alone." He mumbled so only the hat could hear. 

"It's only your first day, it's normal to be alone... Let's see,, what do you think of Gryffindor?" It asked, Darryl was a bit confused since the others definitely didn't have conversations like this with the hat. 

"Uh it's cool but I'm not brave" he chuckled lowly, almost awkwardly. 

"What about Ravenclaw?" Darryl looked over at George and hummed "I'm not that bright or hard working." He mused, realizing just how worthless he seemed. 

"And Slytherin?" Darryl tensed and chewed on his lip, making brief eye contact with the Zak kid. He was staring him down like some scum, making Darryl shrink in the chair. 

"No thanks." He squeaked lamely, almost trembling.

"Then that leaves..." 

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted suddenly, causing Darryl to jump in his seat and sigh once the hat was taken off. He could hear the shouts of his friends over all the others, bringing a large smile to his face. He walked over to the Hufflepuff table, immediately taking a seat next to Karl and sighing dramatically. "I'm glad that's over with..." He leaned onto Karl and rested since the anxiety tired him out. 

***  
After everyone had been sorted into their houses, there was now a feast being held. There was going to be no classes today, just a feast and then settling into their rooms. Darryl didnt feel hungry, there was so much food on his plate but he could only pick at it. 

"Hey! Don't worry so much, at least we have each other! Tomorrow we can be with them but today we have to be with our house cuz it's mandatory or something." Karl rambled to keep Darryl's mind off everything. Darryl smiled lightly "thanks Karl, I feel lucky to have met you." Darryl mumbled, trying to keep himself from tearing up. 

Karl nodded and ate his food happily. 

***  
Once it got late, everyone was instructed to follow their prefects to their house rooms. (Apparently all their luggage was transfered to their house rooms.) The prefects for the Hufflepuff's were a 5th Year named Niki, she let people call her Nihachu. And a 6th Year named Wilbur, they seemed like good friends too. 

"Ok guys! Let the 1st years up front so they can hear the password!" Wilbur shouted, the others making room for the first years.  
"The password is L'manberg! It'll be the password for the first week, we'll be changing the password every week to keep others out. So remember, L'manberg!" Niki spoke, her voice soft and gentle, Darryl knew he could talk to her if he ever needed comforting.

The painting behind her opened up and everyone started walking in one by one. "Wow this is so cool, I can't believe this." Karl was in awe, Darryl was in awe as well but a little less since he had a witch mother so it wasn't new to him.  
"Ok this is the living room area, you can study here or just hang out. To the right is the girl's dorms and to the left are the boys dorms, feel free to choose an empty bed in a room." Wilbur instructed, sounding a bit dull and bored. 

Karl grinned and grabbed a hold of Darryl's hand, dragging him up the stairs. "Hurry so we can get the best beds!" Darryl eventually ran at equal pace, glad that Karl was with him.  
"Look we can have the beds right next to each other, you should be getting Strawberry back tonight." Karl plopped onto a bed and Darryl cringed. "Karl! Take off your shoes and change into your pajamas at least!" Darryl scolded, taking his shoes off and tucking them under the bed as an example.

Karl simply rolled his eyes and took his shoes off but left them just by the bed messily. Darryl rolled his eyes back at him and they laughed.  
When he looked at the bedside table he noticed a folded up school uniform in the Hufflepuff colors.

"Wow" he said, unfolding them and looking at them in their glory.  
"Woah that's dope." Karl said, grabbing his own robes excitedly. 

"Yeah, but it's time for us to sleep so let's put on our pajamas and get to bed." Darryl looked around and noticed his luggage by the door, he went over and picked them up. He put his school items under the bed, opening up his clothes and pulling out his night clothes.  
He took off his colorless uniform and put on his pajama pants and shirt, Karl did the same after finding his luggage. 

Once finished they stuffed the rest of their bags under the bed and sat in bed, there were other people in their dorm but they hadn't bothered with them at the moment.  
Darryl layed down completely and let the covers engulf him, his first day had gone a lot better than he expected. He hummed himself to sleep happily, once again humming the song from the train.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second day at Hogwarts. Mostly classes and world building!

Darryl was awoken by a chirping, he opened his eyes and saw Strawberry. He grinned and held his hand out to her cage. "Hey" he cooed with a hoarse voice, still tired. He rolled over and groaned, forcing himself to stand and shake Karl awake. "Kaarrrl, we need to go so we aren't late on our first day with classes." Darryl whined, then Karl groaned and mumbled. "Nooo, five more minutes..." He yawned but Darryl shook him even more. 

"You muffin, hurry up and get ready." Darryl shook his head and grabbed his crisp new robes, then he changed into them. The sleeves were big but he liked the feeling so he didn't mind. He grabbed his wand and tucked it into his pocket and shook Karl once again. "Wake up!" Karl finally got up after pushing Darryl away. "Fine fine." He muttered and smiled at the sight of his pet hedgehog on his bedside table, still snoozing away.

The two of them stretched, noticing that everyone they shared the room with had already gone to breakfast. "Hurry we need to eat before class." Darryl ordered like an older sibling, causing Karl to laugh. "Ya whatever c'mon, we need to look for Sapnap and George." Karl cheered, grabbing Darryl's hand and dragging him down the stair case as he had the night before.  
Basically everyone had already gone to breakfast, the only students at the dorms were older students working on homework last second. 'One day that'll be me' Darryl thought, getting giddy. 

Karl led them to the great dining hall, he scanned the tables before spotting George sat near to Sapnap at the Gryffindor table, two seats between them. "There they are, they even saved us a spot let's go." Karl stated, pointing over at them. Darryl spotted them as well, actually surprised that they saved a spot for them.  
"Oh look who decided to show up!" George teased, making Darryl huff in annoyance. "Karl here wouldn't wake up!" He crossed his arms and puffed his cheeks, causing them to laugh at his childish behavior.

"Whatever, sit and eat we have like 20 minutes before class." Sapnap patted the seat next to him and they sat, squished between Sapnap and George. 

"Oh is this the Karl and Darryl you two talked about?" A gryffindor boy asked, sitting across from them. He was definitely a first year like them, and he had firey red hair that made him stand out from everyone else.

"Oh right, guys this is my buddy Link, he goes by Red or Velvet." Sapnap introduced, all while stuffing his face.  
They exchanged hand shakes and chatted a bit.

"What are your guy's classes?" George chimed in, taking a paper out from his robes. Darryl reached into his hidden pocket and also found a list. "Ah it says I have defence against the dark arts first..." That sounded scary. 

"I do too!" Red said from across the table happily. Darryl smiled, at least he knows someone now who will be with him. "What about you guys?" Red asked curiously.

"I got charms first." Sapnap said, disappointed. "Oh me too." Karl replied, looking over Sapnap's shoulder to catch a glimpse of his classes. "I guess I have astronomy alone.." George sighed, resting his chin on his hand. 

"What about second period?" Darryl asked to try and make George feel better. "I have History of Magic." Darryl said, nudging George lightly. George glanced down at his list then perked up. "Me too!" He smiled up at Darryl, thankful.  
"I got transfiguration with Sap." Karl said, glad that they had two similar classes in a row. "Ill be there too." Red added on. 

"Third I got Potions." Darryl read his list out slowly. "Us too." Sapnap spoke for himself and Karl. "Me too." Red said, taking a bite of scrambled eggs. "Same." George said, all of them grinning happily at the realization.  
"Hell yeah! We're all together in that class." Sapnap laughed loudly but Darryl frowned. "Language." He scolded lightly.

"Man, first muffins and now language." George chuckled, amused by his new friend.  
They spent the last couple minutes of breakfast comparing their classes, they had one other class they all shared- flying. 

***  
Red and Darryl walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts together, breaking off from the rest of the group. They didn't talk much but it wasn't awkward, in fact they preferred just walking silently since the hallways were too loud to talk over anyways. 

They walked into class, everyone was lined up against the wall so they joined the line. 

"Class has started, now I'll be explaining what's going to happen." Who Darryl assumed to be the teacher, spoke. He was moderately tall and had a very monotone voice. 

"My name is Technoblade but you can all refer to me as Techno or The Blade or Big T." He smiled for a moment before dropping it. "I'll be assigning seats because as Tsun Zu said in the art of war. 'you never get to choose your partners in life.' "

Is this guy crazy? Darryl thought to himself with a very shocked look on his face..

"You, with the Red hair, I want you at the front, any seat." Techno ordered, Red gave a lopsided grin to Darryl and waved before leaving.  
Darryl started to tap his foot against the wood floor anxiously, now he won't be able to be with Red.

"And you, the Ravenclaw at the far right.. yes you, sit next to Red hair." Was Techno just going to call them by anything but their names? 

"Hufflepuff." Darryl stiffened and wondered if it was him. "The one by the window." Darryl looked behind him and to his relief, he was by the door not the window. 

"Yes you the tall one." Darryl looked closely, maybe he could make another Hufflepuff friend?  
Techno wasn't wrong, he was tall for a first year, he had brown hair and laughed as he walked up. 

"The Slytherin, with the scarf, sit next to beaver boy." A shorter boy walked up, a scarf covering his lower face and hands tucked into his pockets. Another boy in the class laughed hysterically at the nicknames, Darryl didn't get to see who. 

This went on for awhile, until Darryl was finally called on. "Hufflepuff with the glasses, near the door. I want you behind Slytherin with the big hair." Darryl cringed, it's the Zak boy. He trudged over to his seat and sat down quietly, hopefully no one talks to him.

One last boy was ordered to sit beside him, a Gryffindor with long curly brown hair and pale skin. Once he sat beside Darryl he chuckled. "Hey hufflepuff with glasses, I'm Finn."  
A smile tugged at Darryl's lips. "I'm Darryl, nice to meet you Gryffindor who almost looks like a girl." That's what Techno had referred to Finn as. 

Finn smirked and knew he was going to like this class with Darryl as his partner. 

***  
Technoblade spent the class spewing what mostly sounded like nonsense but it also sounded kinda helpful? Darryl made sure to take notes even if they seemed a bit odd. "And that's why you don't trust orphans." Right...

Most of the class was giggling by now.

"Oh you are all laughing now but this is no laughing matter. Just wait until you encounter an orphan for yourself." He scoffed, throwing his legs onto the desk.  
"I don't even like kids why is this my job, Philza and Will forced me to start teaching here last year but I would've been better off dueling." Techno grumbled in annoyance.

"Whatever, well I can't teach you guys much since you don't even know many spells yet. Once you do I'll teach you all proper dueling etiquette." Techno took his own wand out, waving it around and making the objects on his desk levitate. The class awed and watched in amazement, well most of the class. 

"And that's the end of class, go skedaddle now." He ushered with his wand lazily, the class filing out one by one. He watched as the scarfed boy from earlier walk over to Zak.  
He could just barely over hear them.

"Dream will definitely be beating him once he practices, it'll be easy. Let's bet on it, $10,000?" Zak giggled, the scarfed boy nodded in agreement with a certain look in his eyes. Darryl's eyes widened in surprise $10,000 ??!! That's a risky bet.

He shook his head and instead waved goodbye to both Red and Finn, wandering off to his next class.  
He ended up bumping into George. "Oh hey how was defense against the dark arts?" George asked once they were side by side.

"Errr... Well it was interesting, you'll see." Darryl laughed, Technoblade is a weird one.  
"Ha, well hurry I want good seats." They started jogging over to History of Magic, annoyed that it was so far away. 

They walked in and most seats were already taken, no two seats were available next to each other. "Ugh finally I get a class with you and I don't even get to sit with you." George groaned "I'm sitting in the back." He waved and plopped in a seat next to another fellow Ravenclaw.  
Darryl looked around and saw Zak again, seriously? Would they have the same classes all day? Surely not.

He scanned the room and saw the tall hufflepuff from the last class, so he took his shot and sat next to him. "Hey, we had defense against the dark arts together.." Darryl waved awkwardly. The boy grinned.

"That teacher was absolutely bonkers!" He laughed out loud, wiping at his non-existent tears. "Anyways my name is George, what's yours." Darryl dead-panned, two George's? How would he differentiate them?

"I'm Darryl, do you perhaps have a nickname?" Darryl asked shyly, trying his hardest to not come off as rude. "Oh yeah, you can call me spifey, or spofey, or spooofeyyy, or Geo." He giggled and Darryl nodded, unable to hold back his tiny smile.

Another person was sat next to Spifey. "Hey, I'm Aaron but you can just call me Vurb." He looked absolutely bored out of his mind, he was a Gryffindor. "Hi." Darryl called back, settling into his seat and waiting for the class to start. 

"Hello first years, I'm your History of Magic teacher. My name is Dan, and I hope you guys are having a good first two days." He seemed much more stable than their previous teacher.  
The only problem was that Darryl had trouble focusing in this class since Vurb and Spifey kept on distracting him by passing notes and giggling loudly. 

He would spare George and few glances, smile and wave at each other and then face the teacher once again. 

But overall, the class was uneventful and went by in a flash.  
Now Darryl was finally excited for the day, he would have a class with all his friends! Probably make more along the way, make groups together and have fun and just have a great time all around!!

***  
Oh how he was wrong, they had realized last second that they had an uneven group of five. Darryl, being the kind boy that he was, let them all group in twos and he let the teacher set him up with someone.

How horrible. 

Of all houses.

He got a slytherin.

Of all people.

He got Zak.

His friends gave him pitiful glances and wished him luck. He couldn't even be mad, he did it to himself.  
"You're that hufflepuff that's friends with those half-bloods." Zak spat, boredly messing with his own hair.  
"Oh yeah, Sapnap and George? Yeah." He hummed and fumbled with his sleeves, gosh this is awkward. 

"What are you? A half-blood like them too?" He asked, leaning over to catch a look of his face. Darryl saw his mischievous grin, it reeked of slytherin.  
"Uhm, yeah..." He averted his eyes and wondered when the teacher would start.

"Gross, which parent tainted the blood?" Darryl was getting uncomfortable by this point. "Ah uhm, my dad I guess." He glanced around the class room but it looked like nothing could save him from this situation. 

"Your mother is a disgrace." Darryl bit back any vicious words and started to shake, not that Zak noticed or cared. "Your father should leave-" Zak froze, his words getting caught in his throat when he heard a broken sob, Zak looked over and saw the tears and choked sobs for his own eyes. 

"M-my father d..did leave." Darryl said between his cries, but they were practically silent, no one else in the room taking notice.  
Zak felt guilt settle into his gut and sit there, itching at him. He went silent and didn't talk for the rest of the class. Neither did. 

***  
Darryl was still shaken up, but he didn't want his friends to worry. He wiped his face down and took deep breathes, Zak finally seemed to have left him alone and he was thankful. He noticed the guilty look on Zak's face and wondered if it was just an act, but he pushed that thought away and stood up to go see his friends as they walked to their next class. 

He walked to herbology, his first class alone and without people he knew. Except for, surprise surprise, Zak.

He chose the seat farthest away from him, as far as possible. He wouldn't be able to handle two classes in a row next to Zak. There was one person he recognized but didn't know the name of. "Hey you're Red's partner in defense against the dark arts." Darryl spoke softly.  
"Oh yeah, my name's Anthony, I go by Ant though. How about you?" He had a calming voice, practically causing Darryl to forget the incident in the previous class. "Darryl, hopefully we can be friends." Ant only nodded and then focused on the teacher, which was reasonable so Darryl did the same. 

Throughout the class Zak would look over at him and cause him to tense or look way awkwardly. Why couldn't Zak just leave him alone??  
Ant seemed to notice his discomfort and would glare at Zak whenever he would look over in their direction. That made Zak stop looking over as often, finally letting Darryl calm down. 

***  
After that class he realized just how busy the days were, he has to do this everyday?  
His next class is transfiguration, he walked into class, absolutely tired and just grabbed a random seat. 

"Oh hey, what's up." He looks at his partner, it's a Slytherin, of course. He resists the urge to stand and choose a different seat, instead he waves. "Hi, I'm Darryl... What's your name?" He's introduced himself so many times today, it's all so repetitive. 

"I'm Jacob, or Zelkam, or Zelk." He grinned leaning back in his seat. This guy definitely doesn't give off a scary vibe like some other Slytherins. He sighed and settled into his seat, getting comfortable. 

When he glanced up he noticed a fox sat on a desk, just staring everyone down. Is this the teachers pet? The bell rang and the fox jumped to the ground, turning into a person in the process.  
'wow I must be super tired.' he laughed and rubbed his eyes, but the person is still there. 

"Hello everyone, I'm your transfiguration teacher, Fundy." He smiled. "Transfiguration is the art of changing the appearance of an object or person, like this-" he grew ears atop his head and a tail.  
Every person is in awe because this is just amazing! 

Darryl definitely was no longer tired, in fact he was super interested in this class.  
Maybe he could learn transfiguration and change himself like Fundy did?  
"Wow, I wanna be able to turn into an animal, maybe an elk." Zelk thought out loud, a mischievous look in his eyes. 

***  
By the end of class Darryl found out that he wouldn't be able to change his body yet, that was more advanced. But he was definitely set on taking this class for the rest of his years. 

Zelk also ended up being quite nice to him, he felt bad for generalizing the Slytherins. He just hasn't met the better ones yet.  
His next class was astronomy which he wasn't too psyched about it if he was being honest. He wasn't interested in learning about the stars and planets, he walked over to class and of course, Zak was there too. 

He won't be surprised if Zak ends up being in all of his classes, not that he'll enjoy it though. The other person he sort of knew in his class was Dream, or Clay. He hadn't interacted with him but Sapnap and George seemed to not really like him so he might be just like Zak.  
He sat alone and hoped someone nice would sit next to him. 

Eventually someone took the seat, a Ravenclaw. "Hey I'm Harvey. What's up." He held his hand out and got comfortable. Darryl returned the hand shake "hi, I'm Darryl."  
Harvey looked nice, and like a very chill person. He also sounded very happy. 

"Cool!" He gave a thumbs up but Darryl was a bit confused about what was so cool about his name. Either way he enjoyed the excited nature of Harvey, he also was a great help during astronomy when Darryl got confused. 

***  
At the end of class Harvey wished him luck and walked out with a skip in his step. Luckily his day is almost over so he won't have to worry for much longer. 

Charms is his next class, simple spells anyone can preform with or without a wand. They would prove to be useful for people doing everyday stuff.  
Darryl walked into the classroom, Clay and Zak close behind him. They're literally everywhere! 

He spotted George and quickly sat in the empty seat next to him. "Oh thank goodness George I've missed you." George laughed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "What? Haven't you met some new people?" George asked.  
Darryl nodded "yeah but I feel more comfortable with you.." 

He gave a reassuring smile "eh don't worry too much, c'mon let's learn some charms!" George cheered him up. When Darryl looked up to the front of the class he caught Clay glaring him down. He immediately avoided the eye contact and faced George instead, still feeling eyes at the back of his head. 

George and him were able to make some small objects float easily. The first class was for beginners and to test what they could do. Since they were both half-bloods they were already pretty skilled in the charms area. 

Their teacher was named Grian and he was a good teacher.  
Once the class ended they were excitedly headed to their next class, flying. They would have this class with their friends so they couldn't wait. 

Sadly, Darryl noticed that Zak and Clay were following them. So Darryl did indeed share every class with Zak, unfortunately. "Have you ever flown on a broom before?" George asked as they fast walked outside.  
"Isn't it against the law to fly a broom when you aren't in school, and you don't know how?" Darryl asked, worried that a teacher would over hear them and get them in trouble. 

"Ah yeah you're right,,, well just forget what I said then." He giggled cheekily and continued walking. 

***  
Once they got to the training grounds they saw multiple broom sticks on the floor. Sapnap, Karl, and Red were already stood next to each other. George and Darryl stood next to them with unclaimed brooms.  
"Hey! We were just talking about quidditch, what do you think of it?" Sapnap asked the two. 

"Quidditch? Well I might just join if you guys decide too, it sucks we won't be on the same teams but oh well." George responded while looking down at his broom.  
"What about you Darryl?" Karl asked, standing next to him.

"Uhm, I'll definitely try out next year, I think I'd be pretty good at being a chaser..." He replied, trying not to seem like he was bragging but it was a bit hard. "We are all thinking of joining so we'll all be against each other!" Red laughed cockily, pulling Sapnap close. Karl rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Darryl "yeah yeah, no holding back against each other!" 

George didn't have another Ravenclaw that he knew to help him out so he just crossed his arms, trying to seem intimidating. (But to no avail)  
They heard snorts of laughter behind them, Clay and Zak. "You guys are going to join the quidditch team? Thanks for making it easier for us." Zak teased, leaning against Clay. 

Sapnap and George had a blank face after seeing them, simply ignoring them and waiting for the teacher to come, luckily it didn't take long.  
"Hello first years! I'm your flying teacher and also the quidditch coach, my name is Philza." He introduced himself, many stray students now choosing a broom once again.

"Today we're just going to learn how to summon our broom and float a couple feet off the ground. It'll get progressively harder throughout the school year and then it's your choice whether or not you want to continue taking this class next year." Philza explained quite cheerfully, "let's just get right into it. Repeat after me." 

He held his arm out beside him, just above his broom handle. "Acio!" Philza spoke loud and clear, his broom soaring into his hand as he clasped it tightly. "Now it's time to get on. Make sure your feet can still touch the ground though, we don't want any accidents." He chuckled lowly and Darryl suggenly worried that he wouldn't be able too, that would be so embarrassing. 

"Ok now you guys try." 

Sapnap was the first of his group to attempt, putting his hand out and saying Acio confidently. To no surprise, it sprung right up into his open palm, grabbing onto it with no problem. Then Red tried after him, doing just as well as Sapnap had. 

George did afterwards, laughing once he got it right. Karl was quick as well, smiling largely and standing proud.  
How the heck did Karl get Hufflepuff as his house and not gryffindor??

Darryl sighed and held his arm out shakily, "acio!" He tried to speak loud, instead of the broom shooting up into his hand, it floated slowly. Philza nodded in approval at them all.  
Darryl couldnt help but watch Zak and Clay, they did it almost expertly.  
It was a bit frightening.

The other students managed to do it as well, to no surprise. "Ok now get on." Philza instructed, getting on his own broom as demonstration. This part was easier and less nerve wracking, Darryl threw his leg over the broomstick handle and stood tall. His friends had gotten it done too. 

"This is a very good class, I had some trouble with the others." Philza grinned "now pay attention." He tucked one foot in and then the other, balancing in the air and completely floating now. "As beginners you do this slow and steady, eventually it'll come naturally." 

'Oh no, what if I plant face first into the floor?' Darryl wondered, teeth chattering. Everyone had done it already except for him. He shook his head, screwed his eyes shut, and pulled both feet up at the same time instead of step by step like everyone else, surprising the few people who were watching him.  
"Well done everyone." Philza congratulated, noticing the small ounce of skill that Darryl posessed. "Now we'll be moving on to caring for our broomsticks. Oh and how to get off." 

***  
The class was great, probably his favorite along with transfiguration. He definitely needs to try out quidditch for his second year! He bounded towards the dining hall, his friends were already there he just stayed behind to help Philza clean up. He didn't mind, in fact he used it as a chance to get to know Phil more, apparently he's friends with Techo and Techno's real name is Dave. Also he has a son who would be going to hogwarts next year. Philza was a great guy, he surely was looking forward to this class for the rest of his years. 

Darryl entered the dining hall and walked towards the Gryffindor table, sitting next to Karl. "Hey Darryl!" George greeted, the others eating messily. "Hi George!" He greeted back with a smile, looking to his side and noticing Finn. "Oh hi Finn! How was your day?" Darryl asked serving himself some food.  
"It was pretty sweet, these guys your friends?" He gestured to George and Karl since they were the only non-gryffindors at the Gryffindor table, Darryl was obviously with them. "Oh yeah, This is Karl and the other is George. You probably already know Sapnap."  
Finn nodded in confirmation, occasionally talking to Darryl but mostly just eating and talking to some other Gryffindors. 

Darryl would say that dinner was just as great, except for when he felt that someone was staring at him. When he turned around he noticed Zak practically staring him down as he had when he was getting sorted the day prior, only difference is that Zak wasn't looking at him like some scum. There was a hint of remorse in his eyes, immediately glancing away once Darryl had caught him watching.  
He simply brushed it off and ate a little bit quicker so he could get to his dorms faster. 

***  
He had left dinner earlier, bluffing about being tired and wanting to head to bed already. He walked up to the painting and knocked once. "L'manberg." He muttered, the painting allowing him in before closing shut behind him.  
There was only a couple other Hufflepuffs on the lounge, most of them not noticing his presence. He walked past and up to his shared room, no one was in except for him.

This was a great opportunity for what he had planned to do, he pulled some paper out from the desk as well as a quill and ink which was passed down from his mother.

'Dear Mother,

Sorry for not writing you on my first day, I had no time since it had gone by in a flash. Don't worry too much about me! I've already made some very good friends, I even made a lot more on my second day with classes.  
I really like Transfiguration and Flying, do you think I should try out for quidditch next year? I probably shouldn't be thinking that far ahead on my second day of school....  
Oh right I should probably mention, I'm a Hufflepuff, just like you expected! I was scared at first but now I'm proud, just like how you told me to be. 

Best regards,  
Darryl'

He rolled up the parchment and tied it with a yellow striped ribbon. "Strawberry." He ran his hand along her wings, opening up the bird cage. "Could you take this to mother for me please? I'll give you lots of treats when you get back!" He grinned, attacking the letter to her leg. She rubbed her head against his cheek briefly before spreading her wings and taking off into the night sky. He sighed longingly, if he were a bird, he'd fly and never look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave suggestions of who should be in this story, what house they should be in, or if they should be a teacher! <3 ty for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some people don't like a6d so he won't be a majorrrr character but I feel like he deserves to be included :)

After the first week at Hogwarts, Darryl finally fell into a semi-normal routine.  
He would wake up at the sounds of either his roommates or Strawberry. Get ready, shake Karl awake, perhaps his roomates as well if they are still in bed. Then head down to the great dining hall with his friends. 

Most days he'd hang with Sapnap, George, Karl, and Red. (Ant would join them, mostly talking to Red though)  
Other days he'd sit with Finn, Vurb, Spifey, and Tapl, sometimes even Zelk. But that was rare since Zelk spent most of his time sitting with other Slytherins and Darryl didn't have the courage to go sit at that table.  
He wrote home practically every night, getting a letter back the next morning in the dining hall which he always looked forward too. 

In fact, Strawberry just flew in with all the other carrier birds to deliver him a letter. "Thanks Strawberry." Darryl pets her and hands her a treat, she flies back out the large windows, headed to the Hufflepuff house as usual.

Darryl tunes out the loud laughter and chattering of everyone around him and rolls open the well tied letter. He immediately recognizes his mother's fancy lettering and a fond smile grows on his face.

'Dear Darryl,

It's so reliving to hear that you're doing well and that you enjoy your classes. Is Philza still the Flying teacher? I was just a girl, little older than you when he started teaching at Hogwarts! Technoblade and I used to be in the same year, it's nice to know he got to teach there. I remember Fundy as well, he was the prefect while I was a 3rd year, nice to know he mastered transfiguration!  
Continue to update me and take good care of Strawberry for me!

Much love,  
Your mother.' 

"Hey who writes to you?" Spifey asked, leaning slightly onto Darryl. "Oh just my mom, do you write to someone?" Darryl asked, tucking the letter away into his robes, Spifey shrugged. "Sometimes I don't like to write though." Darryl nodded understandingly, glancing up towards the open windows and noticing a deep blue bird fly out, it looked just as majestic as Strawberry.  
He couldn't help but wonder who the bird may belong too. 

"I'm gonna go to class early today, see you guys later." Darryl got up and waved goodbye to Spifey and Vurb, both of them waving back.  
Darryl ended up liking Technoblade a lot once some time had passed. He can be a pretty chill teacher, not as strict as the others which was a good breather for a first class. 

"Morning Darryl." Techno greeted,without even glancing at him enter. "Morning Techno!" Darryl replied cheerfully, sitting in his assigned seat. He pulled his quills, ink, and parchment out onto his desk. He liked to be ready before hand.

"Ah good morning Zak, Clay." Techno greeted the two newcomers, they usually came late, why are they so early today?  
"Hey Techno, wanna make a bet?" Zak walked right up to his desk, a smug smirk on his face. 

Techno irked a brow and shifted in his chair to pay closer attention. "End of this year, you and Clay go against each other in a duel and whoever wins gets $10,000" Zak sounded a bit too confident. 

"Riighht, who's going to provide the $10,000?" Techno leaned back in his chair once again, no longer as interested. "My parents, I already asked in a letter and they agreed." 

Darryl felt wrong for ease dropping but they were the only people there so it was impossible not to listen in. And well he was completely shocked that Zak was actually talking to the Defense against the Dark arts teacher about this, talk about confident. 

"Sure, I'll humor you two. Now get to your seats, just a few minutes left before class." Techno shoo'd them away, Zak finally seemed to notice Darryl at the corner of the room. His smirk had dropped and he whipped his head away and sat in front of Darryl, it's been weird between the two of them. Not like they talked anyways.

Just as Techno said, the bell rang and the students started walking in. "Hey Bad." Finn said as he took his seat and pulled his things out. "Bad?" Darryl asked with a scrunched up nose, wondering wherever that nickname could've come from.

"Yah, you suck at Defense against the Dark arts compared to me, so you're Bad" Finn boasted cheekily. "Wha- Whatever Rose!" Now Finn made a face. "Yeah that's your name now since you look so much like a girl." Darryl stuck his tongue out and when he faced forward again he caught Zak staring at them.  
Zak was quick to look away though, he didn't turn around for the rest of the class. 

***  
Skipping to potions class  
***

Probably the worst class of the day, potions. The reason being that his partner is Zak, and Zak will be his partner for the whole entirety of their 1st year. Darryl couldn't help but think that he's just a bit unlucky. Just a tiny bit.  
And they were making their first potion today, it took awhile since everyone had to learn the steps first. 

"Zak." Darryl called, Zak was a bit lost in his own thoughts. "Oh what" he said, still slightly dazed. Darryl pursed his lips, after last time they didn't have any bad interactions but he was still on edge around him, just by instinct. 

"Can you go get six snake fangs, dried nettle, four horned slugs .... And..." For some reason he was blanking on the last ingredient, he flipped open his book to check "and two porcupine quills," Zak finished for him. "-Yeah sure, you go get the materials." He walked to the shelf at the back of the class that had an assortment of ingredients. 

Darryl's thankful that he's at least being co-operative. He leaves his seat and goes to grab the mortel and cauldron which were required for the potion.  
"Hey Darryl, how's it hanging?" Karl asked since they were both at the front grabbing the materials. "Oh it's fine, at least he's working." Darryl shrugs, already having gathered what he needed. 

"Good luck." Darryl smiled and walked back over to his partner. They had everything they needed so they got started right away.  
"I'll crush the fangs, you start heating up the cauldron." Zak instructed, in a monotone voice. It sort of annoyed Darryl that Zak spoke to him like this, if he feels bad then why'd Zak ever mock him in the first place? 

Still, he does as he was told and keeps a small flame underneath the cauldron. Zak crushed the fangs and he didn't take long to turn it into a very fine powder. "Ok put it in and then we wait a minute before adding the rest-"

"I know." Zak butt in while pouring the powder in. Ok now he's just being a jerk, he's always sending so many mixed signals. Darryl grit his teeth and kept an eye on the powdered fangs, making sure they could get the potion just right.  
After a minute passed of just staring closely, he added the rest of the ingredients. "Ok now-" 

"I know." Zak repeated, accentuating the 'know'. Darryl started to bounce his leg in annoyance, this boy really has zero manners. He glanced towards Sapnap and Karl and noticed how horribly their potion was coming along... Darryl cringed and looked back at his potion, Zak was stirring it slowly.  
Darryl was about to tell him what to do next before remembering how annoying Zak was being. So he stayed quiet and grabbed Zak's wrist to stop his stirring. 

"What the fuc-"  
"aHH Language!" Darryl cut him off quickly, gripping both of his wrists tightly. "Oh shoot." Darryl dropped his hands and put the flame out to prevent the potion from going bad once he realized it was finished. 

"Ok now let's just wait for the end of class." Zak said lamely, obviously bored.  
"Yeah." Darryl replied just as dryly, both sitting still in their sits and refusing to even attempt a conversation with the other. 

***

Eventually, after what felt like a life time... It was finally time for their teacher, Mumbo, to grade their potions. Zak and Darryl were more towards the back of the class so it would take a bit longer before they got their results.  
It looked to be in their favor though since most of the other potions were being graded as either mediocre or straight up horrible. 

Mumbo stopped at their table, first making sure the potion was the right color... Then that it didn't smell burnt or be of an odd consistency. His eyes widened a bit.  
"Ah, the first perfect potion!" He smiled at the two boys with approval. 

"Eight points to Slytherin and Hufflepuff!" The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs in the class simultaneously cheered for the two boys who won them the points.  
In the moment of pride they high fived each other excitedly, before realizing they kinda dislike each other. Zak even looked at his own hand with disgust written on his face before shaking it off. This guy- Darryl couldn't help his unintentional seething.

... Mumbo went back to grading the rest of the potions, Red and George ended up making a perfect potion as well. They earned Gryffindor and Ravenclaw eight points so the points were even at the moment thanks to the four first years.  
Once the class ended Darryl and Zak were quick to separate from each other and head to their respective groups. 

"Good job guys." Sapnap said, patting the three first years who earned points on the back. "I mean it was easy I don't know how you two managed to fail." George shrugged, causing Karl and Sapnap to giggle, their potion was a mess.  
"Whatever! Hurry I wanna get this day over with. School is so tiring." Karl complied, leaning on Sapnap and forcing him to lead the way. 

***  
Skip to Transfiguration  
***

Saying that Darryl is excited for this class is a bit of an understatement, he was absolutely psyched out for this class. Not only for the subject but for getting to be friends with a Slytherin who is actually super cool. "Hey Bad!" Zelk greeted cheekily.  
"Oh my goodness, did Finn tell you to say that?" Darryl groaned, feigning annoyance. But he had a huge smile which was hard to hide so he failed. 

"You know it!" He giggled and sat in his seat, Fundy was already at the front of the class but he was just waiting for the bell to ring. Darryl sat in the seat next to Zelkam as usual and decided to strike up conversation for once, since it's usually not him who does this.  
"So why are you so interested in transfiguration again?" Darryl hummed, leaning over his desk.

"Oh well I kind of knew about transfiguration before this and I've always, always, wanted to be able to turn into an animal... Aha, what about you!" He laughed off the fact that he sounded a bit like a fur- no he'd rather not think of that word. 

"I wanna look cool! Like- like a Bad boy!" Darryl used his fingers to mimic fake fangs. "I also want horns and a cool tail, maybe a bad demon boy, but who also has a halo." He thought with amusement, that would be pretty cool.

"Yeah cool, like a bad boy... Badboyhalo!" Zelk lit up as he said the new nickname. "You can still be called Bad as a nickname as well!" He sounded super proud of himself for coming up with something like that. It wasn't too impressive to Darryl but he liked it, now he has a nickname like basically everyone else. 

"Ooo cool~ Badboyhalo, it has a nice ring to it!" He expressed happily, it wasn't a bad name at all. It felt natural sort of, also sort of childish but he is 12,,, so- 

"Alright class let's get started, each year you'll be moving up the ranks, kind of. First year is just whatever I think you guys can do." Fundy said once the bell rang, clasping his hands together.  
He grabbed his wand from his desk and held it over his head.

"Crinus muto." He muttered with the flick of his wrist, turning his hair from brown to orange. "This is an easy spell for changing appearance. Just wave your wand and say the words, Crinus muto." He did it once again, reverting his hair color back to brown.  
"To undo the spell, say, Reprifage." Fundy grinned, quickly ushering the class to try.

Zelk went first, his dirty blonde hair being turned blue. "Oh yeah that's pretty easy." Zelk was surprised at the simplicity, he'd love to try this spell out more.

Darryl lifted his wand. "Crinus Muto." And his previously light brown hair had turned black, almost a really dark grey. He loved the look, it was great. This is so much easier than hair dye!  
The two boys excitedly looked at each other and took turns saying the spell, their hair turning many different colors. The rest of the class was also having their own fun with the spell. 

"Since it seems that everyone has been able to master this spell, why don't we try another one?" Fundy suggested, the class agreed immediately. 

"Multicorfors" this time he pointed the wand at his clothes, turning them from once black to white. "This spell changes the color of your clothes," 

Zelk tried and his black robes turned white, the green accents turning blue. It looked just a little bit funky.  
When Darryl tried, his robes stayed black and his yellow accents turned red. The colors didn't look too bad on him. 

"Ok now undo the spell." Fundy tried for himself, saying 'Reprifage' and everything reverting to how it once was. Some of the class had some troubles, panicking a little when they couldn't revert the colors.  
Darryl and Zelk did just fine, Zelk was laughing at those who couldn't reverse it. And Darryl couldnt help but laugh along with him, it was pretty funny.  
One of the people who couldn't revert the spell was Zak, his hair was a light blue and Clay was wheezing hysterically at him. Darryl tsked, it's karma for what Zak did.

"Reprifage." Fundy undid the spell for Zak who sighed in satisfaction. Clay was still laughing at him though. "That's all guys scurry off to your next class, days almost over!" Fundy encouraged, the students leaving his class with a new skip in their step. It's safe to say this was basically everyone's favorite class.

***  
Skip to Flying.  
***

Another fan favorite class, Flying. Basically every first year dreamed of joining the quidditch team in the future. Not that it'll be easy to get in, they all knew it would be tough. Though some did have it easier than others...

"Hey guys! How's your day's been?" Darryl asked excitedly, walking up to the group. "It was so fun I think, especially Fundy's class!" Karl responded, looking at the others to see if they thought the same.  
"Oh definitely, I can't wait to do more!" Sapnap spoke up, nodding in agreement. George and Red just giggled while looking at each other, something probably happened during their class. 

Philza stood near a table set up outside, signaling everyone to get close.  
"Sorry to disappoint but today we're only going to be caring for our brooms. It's more important than you think!" About half the class groaned collectively and or rolled their eyes. 

Philza could only laugh at the sounds of disapproval, they reminded him of his own son. "Everyone grab a broom and stand at a table!" He instructed, setting his own broom on a table in front of him.  
Each table had many supplies, all of which looked like they were meant for cleaning and repairing. 

Most of the class was not looking forward too this. 

***

Everyone was anxiously waiting for the end of the flying lesson, mostly since they found it so incredibly boring.  
Philza sighed at the half attempts that the students gave on trying. "You know what let's just end class early today. It's Friday, go eat dinner and sleep in... Or do school work." He smiled at the class, all of them perking up at the early dismissal.

"C'mon let's go get the best seats before any other kids can take them!" Sapnap rushed the group, all of which had the same thought. The older students always took the best seats so they wanted dibs. They raced away from the open field and through the long corridors of Hogwarts. It never failed to amaze them just how huge this place was. 

When they opened the doors, they saw all the food layed out and untouched, it looks ethereal. "Holy shit guys" Karl gasped at the emptiness of it all since everyone else was still in class.  
"Language, Karl!" Darryl walked up to him and waved a finger in disapproval. 

"Whatever let's just go." George said, taking lead and sitting at the Gryffindor table as usual. It was the most accepting house to those who weren't Gryffindors.  
Darryl liked the group, and wondered if he should introduce them to others. "Hey guys?" He asks to grab their attention. 

They look over "yeah?" Sapnap asked, already grabbing food. "Mind if I call over some friends? I kinda want you guys to meet em'" Darryl smiled shyly, wondering what they would think of Zelk.. the others as well but he was mostly worried about introducing them to a Slytherin.

Karl nodded enthusiastically, his hair bouncing along side him. "Yeah duh! The more the merrier." Karl grinned from ear to ear, also starting to grab the food before them.  
Darryl ruffled his own hair anxiously and laughed. "Yeah ok," now everyone started walking into the dining hall, so Darryl kept a close eye out for them. They're usually in a group so it'll be easy to call them over. 

He sat up straight and looked for the familiar curly hair of Spifey since he was the tallest. He saw them towards the back, another boy just as tall as Spifey next to them. Darryl quirked a brow in curiousness, who's that?  
He ignored it for now and stood tall from his seat, waving his hand and calling them all over. "Spifey, come over, bring them too!" Since Spifey was so tall, he noticed Darryl easily and brought the group over to the Gryffindor table.

"Ah hey what's up Bad?" Spifey asked, the group smirking at Darryl's annoyance. "Oh whatever, just sit down and yeah, I wanna introduce you to some people!"  
Karl, Sapnap, George, Ant, and Red were all examining the people silently. Red and Sapnap only kind of recognized Finn and Vurb. Karl recognized Spifey definitely. George and Ant also recognized the nameless friend of theirs. But they all mostly took notice to the Slytherin, not that they didn't like him but just slightly surprised. Sort of. 

"So, guys" Darryl started off with, addressing the group.  
"These are some friends I met from my classes. This is Spifey, his name is also George." Darryl waved to him, and Spifey smiled largely.

"This here is Finn!" Finn waved. "This is Vurb." Vurb was sat close to Finn and had a cheeky smile.  
", this is TapL, and next to him is Zelk." He introduced the ones he knew, getting nervous towards the end.  
"Who's that?" Karl pointed at the Ravenclaw whom Darryl didn't introduce. 

Darryl looked over and he felt bad for not knowing, so he looked over to Finn. "Oh that's Vincent, he goes by A6d. Darryl hasn't met him yet." Finn pointed to Vincent, "hi." He said towards them all.

Darryl gasped in shock. "Oh my goodness do you have a French accent?!" He asked excitedly, leaning over to the presumed French first year. He sighed but nodded.  
"Oh my gosh can you say a french word?" Darryl begged with puppy dog eyes. 

"Uhhhm Bonjour? Comment ca va?" He asked a bit confused as to why this guy cares so much about his accent and language.  
Darryl's mouth was hanging open, he held his face in shock and looked at the others. "Do you guys hear this!?" He asked, mouth still hung open. 

"Darryl it's just a french guy." George said, covering his mouth. 

"It's not *just* a french guy!" Darryl argued, crossing his arms and shaking his head.  
"No I agree, I'm *just* a french guy." A6d responded with a shrug, biting back his chuckles.  
Darryl pouted and started serving himself food, ignoring them now. But not actually ignoring them because he was watching how they interacted and talked to each other and he felt so glad for introducing them to each other. 

He had a secret smile as he ate, occasionally laughing at some of their silly actions and teasing.  
"Oh guys!" Finn piped up, making sure to grab the whole group's attention. "Let's start calling Darryl Bad from now on!" Darryl beamed, even if it was just a joke, he loved his new nickname. 

There was collective agreement all around, all of them immediately teasing Darryl with the nickname that he secretly adored. 

***

"See you later guys!" Karl 'shot' them finger guns as he walked away with Spifey and Darryl to their shared house. "What are you two doing tomorrow?" Spifey asked, slightly ahead of the two.  
"Maybe hang out with Sapnap or something." Karl shrugged, he wasn't sure to be honest.

"Ah maybe just explore the school, check out the library." Darryl threw out, there was so much to explore so he isn't really sure either. "Oh that's not a bad idea, Bad." Spifey laughed but he actually did think it was good. 

They arrived to the portrait. "Mellohi." Karl said the new password, causing the portrait to open up and let them in. "Don't you think these passwords that Wilbur come up with are kind of .... Errr... Odd?" Spifey asked the two, noticing that the passwords weren't exactly normal. 

"Just a bit, but they definitely won't be found out by any other house so I don't mind." Darryl replied, noticing just how cozy the lounge felt with just the right amount of people. Friday was always a good day, you could sleep in or stay up with friends. 

"I'm heading to bed, see you guys later!" Karl yawned, walking up the staircase. Spifey pursed his lips. "I think I'm gonna get some sleep as well, I like my sleep." He said, wishing Darryl a goodnight and also heading up the steps.  
When they left he looked at the couch, and then at the exit. They were told not to leave their dorms after curfew or you get punished. Darryl was a bit intrigued by the thought of going out into the school halls while everyone is in bed. Well everyone with the exception of a few teachers and all the Prefects who did rounds. 

Maybe another time he could try sneaking out? It was a bit of a bold thought for a Hufflepuff to have but his friends really brought out the best in him these past few days. 

In that moment, Darryl decided to get some shut eye just like the other two, he wouldn't want to be down here with people he doesn't exactly know. He's a bit too awkward for that.  
He walked up the staircase and opened up his room's door. Karl was already passed out and he seemed to be the only one in the room. 

He felt the tiredness hit him suddenly so he got into bed. Not bothering to change his clothes which wasn't quite like him but oh well, it's not a school night. He reached over the drawer next to his bed and pulled out a bird treat, feeding Strawberry and then wrapping himself with the blankets.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They do something risky for fun

A month had gone by of going to the magic school of excellence. He adjusted nicely, better than he would've expected. He hadn't expected the abundant amount of friends on his first week here. He hadn't expected the classes to intrigue him as much as they did.  
He fell in love with transfiguration and flying, probably his favorite classes by far.

He loved speaking to and seeing his friends everyday, it was like a sleepover with your friends all the time. There was just one thing of his day that seemed to soil his mood every now and again. 

Zak.

That name followed him around everywhere, literally! They shared every class, he couldn't escape him!  
Maybe if they were friends then it'd be a dream come true but to Darryl he's just a nuisance at this point.

Zak had dropped his guilty streak and had started teasing and pranking Darryl every other day. It was so easy to get him riled up and he found it so embarrassing. Zak seemed to have the intent to make Darryl scream. It was like the only thing that would bring him pleasure. 

The other day Zak had somehow managed to switch the ingredients up on Darryl and he had made a defective potion. Luckily it was just a practice potion so it wouldn't affect his grade but he was still teased since it was so simple. Darryl didn't understand how he managed to mess up until the end of class when Zak confessed with a cheshire cat -like grin on his face. 

That was the first time Darryl wanted to punch something as furiously as he wanted to punch Zak. But he held back and ignored Zak, trying his best to not succumb and give him a reaction. 

Since it was already November and getting colder by the day, everyone was wearing the winter uniforms now. It consisted of your house scarf and a grey or black sweater vest. Which was very warm and comfy.  
Every now and then Wilbur and Niki would hold little get togethers during the weekends in the common room where everyone just drinks hot chocolate by the fire. It was incredibly fun and helped take Darryl's mind off of his homesickness. 

He couldn't lie, he enjoyed hogwarts but he missed his own bedroom and his mother. He wondered if anyone else felt the homesickness. He probably shouldn't sadden himself like this... Though it was basically inevitable, the holidays were always the hardest season especially when alone.

He shook his head and forgot about it. He should do something else instead, something fun for their two day break.  
He rolled over in his bed And faced Karl who was facing away from him. "Hey" he called out, watching Karl shift.

"Are you awake?" He asked a little louder. Karl rolled over completely and opened his eyes slowly with a yawn. "Huh? Mmm.. yeah what's up?" He asked while stretching in bed. 

"We should do something fun today." Darryl replied with an expectant smile. A smirk etched onto Karl's face and he was suddenly wide awake. "Why yes we should Bad, get ready and we'll go!" He pushed himself out of bed and changed into the new uniform.  
Darryl did the same, as well as brushed his hair while Karl left it messy. 

"So what are we gonna do?" Darryl asked while wrapping the warm scarf around his neck. "Sapnap had actually been talking about stuff to do here so let's go meet him at breakfast." Karl stuffed his hands into his pocket and walked down the stairs with Darryl trailing close behind. 

The dining hall was pretty empty that morning, probably because everyone slept in on the weekends. They did spot Sapnap at the Gryffindor table with Finn though, so they approached and sat next to the two.  
"Hey guys, Bad here wants something fun to do. And I thought," karl starts, already energetic and making the other two interested.  
"That we do what Sapnap had planned for awhile, maybe invite some others." 

The three looked at Sapnap expectantly and he half smiled sheepishly. "Oh yeahhhh, I was thinking perhaps we could sneak out after curfew."  
Darryl's eyes widened and he shook his hands is disagreement. "Uh no?! Why would we?" Darryl asked with an absurd look.

Sapnap shrugged "for fun, sneak out and try not to get caught!" He chuckled and Karl nodded in agreement. 

Darryl hesitated, it did sound fun. He just had to not get caught. "Ahhhhh finnnne, let's do it." He groaned and rolled his head back, he can't believe he's actually doing this.

"Sweet! I'll just go ahead and invite everyone. Let's meet up at the main hall?" Finn said with the pump of his fist, he loved the idea. "Aye! Wait, is there a prize?" Darryl asked since he didn't want to do something so risky for nothing in the end. 

"Uhhh sure the winner... Hmmm. We can think about that later!" Sapnap moved on since he honestly had no idea himself.  
"What are you guys talking about?" Zelk came from behind them and took a seat next to Finn. 

"Oh hey Zelk, we're gonna sneak out tonight at 10? And just not get caught." Zelk laughed before realizing they were serious. "Oh man, ok guess I'll be there, mind if I invite someone?" He asked while drumming his fingers on the table. Everyone approved with a nod and they got to eating, they'll let the others know about this throughout the day. 

***

After Breakfast Darryl decided to prepare by getting a nap in during the day so he wouldn't pass out at 3 in the morning. Karl was still out and about probably spreading the word among their friend group. It was exhilarating and sounded fun, something he certainly would never expect first years to attempt.  
He went to sleep with thoughts of the many possible outcomes, some worried him while others got him excited. 

***

"Hey hey get up!" Someone was at his side, shaking him awake quickly. "..mmm.. I'm uppp." He groaned out grogily and rubbed at his eyes, Karl and Spifey were standing above him.  
"What time is it?" Darryl asked with a yawn.

"It's six, were going to dinner and gonna meet up with the rest. Around nine we'll all meet up at the hall and disperse." Spifey explained briefly, so Darryl got himself out of bed and followed the two down to the dining hall. As they said, the group was sat close together and speaking in a whisper so no one could listen in on their plans.

"So rules are... Don't rat anyone out, don't ditch early, meet up in the dining hall for breakfast the next morning." They arrived in time to hear the explanation, the group making room for them to sit in. 

Spifey, George, Sapnap, Karl, Finn, Vurb, Red, A6d, and him. It was odd that Zelk wasn't with them since he seemed as excited as the rest of them to join but perhaps he'll join later.  
Sapnap and Vurb were kind enough to disclose good hiding spots for when they're in a tight spot. Darryl was definitely taking notes in his head, of course the others were as well.

"What's going on over here?" Wilbur landed a hand on Darryl's shoulder which simultaneously caused the entire group to freeze up.  
"Just chatting, Will." George responded with a small nod. Wilbur hummed but nodded. "Right then, I'll be on my way. Have a good night." He waved and left, the group letting out a breath which they were holding in.

"Man that was close... Jeeze, Will's scary." Red shook his head.  
"Nah I think Schlatt is scarier." Vurb chimed in, Schlatt's the Slytherin prefect, he was indeed quite frightening. "I pray none of you get caught by him" Spifey laughs with a doubtful look on his face. 

Oh man, Darryl's really going to do this.

***

Darryl, Karl, and Spifey arrived at the main hall as instructed at 9:40 pm sharp. Basically all students were in their dorms by now, the occasional student running by and to their common room just before curfew sets in. It was chilly in the castle at night, luckily they were still wearing the scarfs.  
The group was assembled except for Zelk.  
"We're waiting ten more minutes, if he doesn't show then we have to go." Karl instructed, getting slightly nervous since they had to go run off soon or they'd all be caught together. 

"Sorry! I hope I'm not late!" They heard Zelk call out quietly, they turned to greet him but noticed Zak trailing close behind.  
"Why's he here?" George mumbled to Sapnap.  
Darryl grimaced. "Sorry I didn't know they were friends." He whispered, the group was mostly silent. 

Zak didn't look suprised, instead just bored with his arms crossed. "So are we starting?" He asked, the group glanced at each other before nodding. 

"Yeah, off you go. Breakfast starts at 8 am, be there or be square." Finn waved and walked to the right, Vurb following close behind.

Sapnap, George, and Karl went to the left at a fast pace.  
Zelk, Red, and Spifey went forwards and down a hall. 

Darryl finally left and went down the hall to the right, Zak and A6d following. "Why are you following me?" Darryl asked, specifically to Zak.  
"Uh you're following me!" Zak whispered back harshly. 

A6d cringed, he's probably gonna get caught if he stays with these two. He slowly backs away unnoticed thanks to their bickering and takes another hall to the left. 

Darryl shook his head. "I'm in front of you, you're following me!" He whispered angrily.  
Zak just shrugged and walked ahead of him.  
Darryl tapped his foot and turned around to speak to a6d instead but he was gone. Now he's with Zak alone, great. He lags behind and stuffs his hands in his pockets to keep them moderately warm.  
He can't believe Zak just followed him when they hate each other, why couldn't he just take a different route. 

They arrived at the stair well. "This is a great spot, so many halls-" Zak started off proudly.  
"I know that's why I was headed over here." Darryl groaned, walking ahead of Zak and standing on a floating stair case.  
Zak rushed onto the stair case before it left and rolled his eyes. 

They stayed quiet as they ascended the stairs, Zak stayed on the second floor while Darryl walked into the next set of stairs.  
"Where are you going?" Zak asked.

"Away from you? Dunno, thought that would be good?" Darryl responded sarcastically, Zak always brought out this side of him.  
Zak 'hmph'd and walked down the second floor hallway.  
Darryl turned around and went to the fourth floor hallway, and he realized that he underestimated just how creepy it would be. The moon shone it's moonlight barely on a couple windows, but it was a mostly dark hallway. There were creepy statues all around and he didn't like it one bit.

Now he kinda wishes he were with Zak because at least he wouldn't be alone and afraid. He continues down the hall and looks around the rooms, mostly empty classrooms and closets strewn about.  
They looked like nice hiding place if he needed to get away fast, so he made sure to remember the doors. 

He was about to go further down the hall until he heard the clicking of heels or boots, it was hard to tell what exactly. When he squinted his eyes to get a better look, he realized it was Eret the Slytherin prefect. Oh no is he already going to be the first one out?  
He does a 180 and runs down the hall, not thinking about noise at all.

"Who's there?" Eret called out, turning down the same hallway and watching a retreating figure leave the third floor. 

In Darryl's sprint for his life he bumps into Zak again, both of them falling to the floor from the force they ran into each other with. Zak rubbed his head but instantly stood up again and yanked Darryl to his feet by his arm. "Where are we going?!" Darryl asked in a panicked shushed whisper.

"Shhhh, Schlatt's down there and I think I heard Eret." Zak spoke, putting his finger to his lips. Darryl nodded in confirmation, they wouldn't be able to go down the stairwell.  
He stayed quiet as Zak dragged him along, up the stairs and to the top floor.  
"There might be an exit through here..." Zak thought out loud, no shred of confidence in his voice.

They both started to run down the seventh floor hall, Zak was still gripping Darryl's wrist but neither noticed or cared. Their running ceased when they met a dead end. "Shit!" Zak cursed out, finally dropping Darryl's arm. Darryl didn't respond, instead they both looked around frantically for a room. 

Zak tried to jiggle a door open but it was either jammed or locked.  
"We heard you, you little shits! There's a dead end back there." They heard Schlatt yell out followed by laughter.

Darryl and Zak started to pace in front of the dead end filled with dread and awaiting their end. Their mind filled with thoughts, almost all of which being a wish for a safe way out.  
"Wha- was this always here?" Darryl breathed out in shock, Zak looked over and saw a door on the previously empty wall. He reached for the knob and turned it expecting it to be locked but it opened fully. 

They looked at each other before rushing in and shutting the door, making sure to lock it immediately afterwards.  
"Holy shit dude." Zak was out of breath, the two of them slid down to the floor once they knew they were safe. 

"I was so sure we were goners once I heard him." Darryl shivered from the fear and held a hand to his chest. Zak stood up and looked around the familiar room, it kind of looked like a common room. There were books and couches and a fire place. 

"Huh this is weird." He placed a hand to his chin and spun around to get a good look at the room. It was indeed an almost normal common room except for that it was missing it's staircases for the dorm rooms. This is a bit surreal, almost a dream. "Are we dreaming?" He asks out loud, now staring at Darryl who was sat on the floor.

Darryl stifles his laughter by bringing a hand to his mouth. "Dreaming?!" He giggles some more. "I've already pinched myself, I think this is real." He gives a lopsided smile and pinches himself once more for effect.  
Zak proceeds to pinch himself for safe measures and nothing, he doesn't wake up. 

"What the hell, what do we do?!" They certainly could not go out there again! Not unless they want to be dead meat, nuh-uh. But they don't know where the heck this room came from so they aren't sure if it's safe to stay or if others can get in.  
"I think we just have to wait it out now? Should we tell the others about this?" He asks skeptically, how believable would it be if they told their friends that a room appeared out of thin air when they wished and prayed for it to happen.

"Yeeaaaaah noooo" Zak shook his head "this is amazing and we need to take tests with this room before we reveal it to all of Hogwarts."  
Zak was right, they know nothing about this room.

Zak let's out a long yawn and leans against one of the couches. "God I'm tired, and it's so warm in here." He hummed lightly while watching the fire flicker. 

"You can go ahead and sleep, I can keep watch." Darryl assures, sitting on the loveseat across from the longer couch. Zak Lays on the couch but then glares at Darryl. "Don't stare at me weirdo." 

Darryl guffaws and sputters for a moment, bringing a teasing smile to Zak's face. "Weirdo!? I'm helping you!" He fumed slightly before taking a deep breath and reminding himself it's not worth it to get worked up over this. "Whatever, sleep, I'm gonna watch the door." Darryl muttered and crossed his legs, Zak turned over to face away from Darryl and went to sleep asap. 

Daryl took his sweater vest off and placed it over Zak, out of courtesy. To stay warm he got close to the fire, even grabbing one of the books from the coffee table. He can only assume they'll be here for awhile. 

***

Darryl was slightly dozing off, his head lolling over a couple times before he shot upright. He almost fell asleep again until he heard a knocking at the door. Oh no.  
He threw the book half hazardly to the floor and rushed over to the door. There was a frantic tapping and he glanced at Zak then the door, ultimately deciding to risk it.

He unlocked it and opened it up, a6d was on the other side.  
"Schlatts back there let me in!" A6d said quickly, huffing from lack of breath probably because he was running. Darryl opened the door wide and let him in before slamming it shut and locking it again. 

"Do you know how everyone else Is doing?" Darryl asked while falling against one of the couches now that his adrenaline was gone.

"I ran past a couple, I don't know if any got caught." A6d sighed and also leaned against the couch. He looked over to Zak and noticed the grey vest that belonged to Darryl draped over him. He raised a questioning brow and looked over to Darryl.

"Oh uhm it's cold so I let him use my sweater... You can sleep too if you want, I've been keeping watch." Darryl replies nervously. A6d shakes his head though. "You should sleep, I can keep watch and trade spots with Zak later." He assured, taking a seat on the loveseat which Darryl took earlier.

Darryl flopped onto the longer couch and cuddled against the pillows, it was much nicer than sitting against the coffee table by the fire. He let himself fall asleep, the nap from earlier helped him stay up this long but now he was tired as heck.

***

A couple hours passed and A6d shook Zak awake. "Daarryl?" Zak groaned out, turning on his side to come face to face with A6d.  
"How? What?" Zak looked completely lost, sitting up on the couch and seeing Darryl asleep. 

"He let me in, it's your turn to keep watch since you've slept the longest."  
Zak scratched his head but ultimately agreed, letting A6d take his spot on the couch.  
He got up and caught a sweater that fell off, he realized it was Darryl's. Odd. 

He threw it over his shoulder and sat on the loveseat, taking a look at Darryl who was all curled up like some cat. He averted his eyes and stared at the fire.  
Now that he thinks about it, he's basically cheating by hiding in this room for hours. No one needs to know that though. 

He leaned back and crossed his arms, this was going to get boring fast. He looked at Darryl again and grinned, getting up and crouching down next to him. He poked him a couple times to see if he was a heavy sleeper or not, to his luck he was.  
Even better, he's a sleep talker if you talk to him. 

"What do you think of Finn?" Zak asked in a whisper next to his ear, hoping to get dirt on people that he could blackmail Darryl with.  
"Mmm.. rose..." He mumbled, a goofy smile on his face. 

"Right, Vurb?" He moved on since he didn't understand what Rose meant.

Darryl giggled lightly "simp .. pug... Toes."  
This is what he thought of them, they sure are weirdos. 

"Zak" he said only his name this time in curiosity. 

"...." Darryl furrowed his brows in his sleep and grunted in annoyance. "Jerk." He finally mumbled out.  
Zak laughed, just jerk?  
"Is that all, Zak?" Zak said his name again, maybe hoping to get more.  
"Cute jerk." Darryl sighed and held the pillow closer to him. 

Zak squinted down at him and scrunched up his face in thought. Cute? He's cute? He was expecting Darryl to curse him out or say horrible things not call him a cute jerk.

He gets off the floor and sits on the couch next to Darryl since there was still a lot of room. He grabbed onto the sweater vest and put it back over Darryl, not wanting to have to return it later when he's awake.  
He didn't think much about the cute comment except that, it was all he could think about. 

It was just slightly jarring since he had wanted to leave a bad impression on Darryl but Darryl's way too... Kind and forgiving. He's always scolding others for cursing and he's always trying his hardest to not get mad (most times it fails though.) 

He held his chin and wondered how the hell he got into this situation with two idiots. Whatever, it's almost time for breakfast. It's six am and they can go as soon as it hits seven am. 

***

Finally, Zak had been watching the time out of bordem since the other two were asleep and he had only himself to keep himself company. First he woke up A6d with a hard shake and obnoxious talking.  
Then they woke up Darryl who still looked tired even after his almost three hour nap. 

"C'mon it's seven, breakfast is being served." Zak cocked his head to the door and they all walked over to it. Hopefully no one is out there to see them walk out.  
They unlock the door and open it Slowly, they each peeked out and scanned the hall, it was empty. They were relived and walked out.  
When they turned around again to take one last look at the door, it was gone. it was once again a dead end with a huge brick wall. They looked at each other knowingly, they were probably the only ones to know about this and that whole thing was real. They break the long look and continue on their way.  
They left the seventh floor hallway carefully walking down into the main hall and trying to blend in with the rest of the students that were headed towards breakfast.  
"Holy shit we actually did it." Zak muttered under his breath to the two boys beside him. 

"Language" 

A6d and Zak burst out into laughter, now he cares about language, of all things? Okayyy. Darryl giggled slightly but tried to keep his mouth shut to prove a point.  
They continued walking, entering the hall and seeing three of their friends laying their heads on the tables. Sapnap, Karl, and George.  
They join the three of them "you guys survived?" A6d joked, leaning onto the table as well. 

"Yeah, there was close moments but yeah..." They looked as if they got no sleep, it made Darryl feel slightly guilty since he probably had it easy.  
"Schlatt and Eret almost found us but-" Darryl started off but Zak quickly cut him off to make sure he wouldn't spill the beans of the mysterious magic room.  
"And we managed to hide in an old classroom last second." Zak smiled (which was really off putting since why the heck is Zak being nice?)

"You guys stayed there all night?" Karl asked a bit surprised with how Darryl was able to handle Zak.  
"Yup." A6d responded, popping the 'p'.  
Finn and Vurb appeared from behind them and sat, slamming their heads on the table. 

"Uh are you guys alright?" Darryl asked, putting an arm on one of theirs.  
"I'm never fucking doing that again." Finn groaned out and Vurb nodded lazily. Darryl glared at Finn for the curse bet let it slide just for now. 

"I'm going to sleep." Finn stood with a slight wobble and Vurb got up to follow. "Same." Sapnap and George said, getting up and following the two. 

"I'm not tired." Zak shrugged. "You slept most of the time.." Darryl said with a slight mocking tone. 

"At least I don't talk in my sleep." Zak nudged him with a smirk, an uneasiness settling in Darryl's stomach. "Ugh you guys flirt too much." A6d feinged a gag and stood up, leaving the two of them alone with Karl. 

"Uhm, imma head out." Karl laughed awkwardly and walked away, sprinting once he was far enough. 

"Ew." It was Zak's turn to gag now.  
"Oh shut up, I'm leaving!" Darryl stood quickly and went after Karl since he didn't want to be left alone with this cute jerk. 

Ah that's weird.  
Cute? 

When had he started associating Zak with the word cute. He pursed his lips and held a stern look, why the heck is he thinking weird stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote this chapter a couple times, so sorry abt the late update.  
> Included some more bonding between em' for this chapter since I don't want Zak to be an asshole the whoooole time. 
> 
> Btw the room they found is 'The Room of Requirement.'  
> You walk past the room three times while thinking about what you need, then it'll appear.  
> :) This is just supposed to be a nice chapter and there will be more like this eventually. 
> 
> I'm kinda unhappy with this chapter but I hope it's good enough


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little slip up that may open up doors

During today's flying class, everyone was a bit distracted thanks to the first snow of the month. People were practicing flying with their brooms and catching stray snow flakes.   
"Are you guys going home or staying for the holidays?" George asked the seemingly inevitable question. 

Darryl's previously gleeful mood had fallen, a slight frown flickered on his face before forcing a smile so the others wouldn't worry.   
"I'm going home." Sapnap said, leaning back on his broom which was a trick he was proud of and loved to show off. 

"Same" Spifey hummed, also attempting a trick, though he had a bit of trouble. George and Karl nodded in agreement   
"Yeah me too" A6d said, his french accent made Darryl smile genuinely for a moment. 

"Ah, I'm staying." Darryl shrugged, kicking the fresh snow under his feet.   
The group could hear his almost well hidden undertone of disappointment. They were all going home while he would be staying alone for the holidays. They brought their brooms to a stop and landed near him.

"We'll bring you a ton of gifts." Karl wrapped an arm around Darryl's shoulders and swayed side to side playfully. Darryl sighed and felt bad for ruining the mood, so he grinned once again. "Thanks guys but you don't have too." He assured them with a guilty self conscious.

Sapnap laughed "you don't have a choice, we're going to bring you tons of gifts!" The group collectively agreed and Darryl felt grateful for his friends. He laughed and shook his head bashfully. "Thanks guys, it means allot really." They nodded and hopped onto their brooms once again, this time Darryl joined them instead of hanging alone on the ground. 

When Darryl took a look to the ground where he once stood, he noticed Zak and his stare that felt directed at him for some reason. 

He wouldn't say he felt closer to Zak since then, but, he was slightly, just slightly, more tolerable than before. They had something to at least talk about now? But it doesn't look like Zak will be lightening up his pranks and mean behavior. In fact he seemed like even more of a jerk since they had hid in the magic room. 

"Darryl?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts and his intense staring contest with Zak. "Huh?" He looked over and Karl gave him a more than concerned look. 

"Everything ok?" He asked. Darryl nodded in reply and smiled wide to prove his point. Karl didn't want to push any further so he let it slide, even if he noticed the weird staring between Darryl and Zak, he wouldn't bring it up. For his sake.

Zak on the other hand still kept a fierce glare focused on Darryl. He wasn't aware about it at all though. "Dude." Zak rolled his eyes and finally pried his eyes away unwillingly. "What?" He asked, fully turning to face Dream.   
"Stop ogling that Hufflepuff." He scrunched up his nose and waved a hand at Darryl's direction.

"Oggling?? What the hell, I don't even know what that means!" Zak responded in complete confusion and annoyance.   
"Jesus nevermind." Dream sighed out and huffed at his very stupid friend. 

***

Dinner was bustling as always, barely anyone would miss dinner. Everyone spoke excitedly about the holidays while Darryl picked at his food in unintrest.   
"Dude what's up with you? I didn't even have to try and prank you to make you sad today." Zak plopped into the seat next to Darryl and waited for an answer. 

Right, Zak usually invited himself over quite often and did whatever he wanted to his heart's content. "Nothing." Darryl responded, unamused. Zak rolled his eyes, something he did often. "Sure sure." He started to eat without a care about the stares directed at him. 

Sapnap and George were still uncomfortable around Zak, well everyone was but no one tried to ever do something about him. Darryl was still sat thinking and wallowing in his own self pity. 

"Jesus, I'm staying here for the holidays too. You don't see me moping." Zak whispered in annoyance and Darryl looked at him astoundedly, for multiple reasons. He speaks so,, uncaringly, and the fact that he also is staying for the holidays. Also how does he know that he's staying?   
"Who told you I'm staying?" Darryl asked, trying to ignore the fact that he cares more than he should.

"It's hard to ignore you and your friends, always so loud and annoying." Zak complained even if he didn't care either way and he was just trying to tease him. 

"Pfft-! Us? Loud and annoying? Look at yourself." Darryl joked, giggling and grinning at Zak who had managed to make him feel better some how. Zak couldn't fight back his own laughs, smiling hard and shaking his head, it's true he can't deny he's just as loud and annoying.   
"Why do you two flirt so much?" Vurb asked, he watched the little conversation between the two go down and how quickly Darryl's mood went from zero to a hundred. 

"Wha-?" Darryl ceased his laughter and forced a disgusted look. "No way." Zak had the same look, both denying this because they would be able to tell if they were flirting with each other! 

Vurb only hummed, obviously not believing them but whatever. 

***

Dinner ended normal as always. Darryl catching up to Karl and Spifey so they could head to their dorms together. Zak going back to Clay who would scold him or tease him about hanging with the shy Hufflepuff. 

"Is something going on between you and Zak?" Spifey asked, he wasn't blind enough to not notice the chummy behavior that popped up suddenly between the two. He didn't know much about Zak other than the fact he wasn't an oh-so pleasant Slytherin like Zelk, so this confused him, why's Bad hanging out with him? He wants to hear it for himself, maybe learn something new. 

Why does this keep popping up? "Uh no?" Darryl responded with obvious look of bewilderment. "Oh ok." Spifey shrugged, he sounded genuine but it still doesn't explain anything, in fact it just gave him more questions. Either way, he dropped it and walked up to the portrait entrance of their common room.

"Furry" 

It was an odd password this week but they aren't gonna question the prefects about it. "See you guys." Karl waved and trudged up the stairs, he was always sleepy after dinner. Then again, many students were.  
"I'm going to do homework, see you" Spifey also went up to his room, effectively leaving Darryl to his own thoughts.

Darryl was thinking about a certain secret meeting with two risky boys, A6d and Zak. (I mean, who else?) They're all meeting after curfew at the spot of the magic room which they discovered that one fateful night.   
So to pass the time, he took a seat on the mustard yellow couch and hid his face in his equally yellow scarf.  
Honestly  
Yellow was starting to get super boring and repetitive.

He much prefers the color.... Green.

He watches the fire flicker and feels it warm up the room. Green really is pretty. Just don't think about Zak and it's a very nice color. Maybe he's biased since his eyes are green. Yeah that's the reason for his sudden fondness over the color green. 

***

He stayed in the common room, just watching the clock tick down to 10 pm.   
He gets off the couch in the deserted room and heads to the portrait once it strikes ten. 

"Where are you going?" A voice from behind speaks up, stopping him in his tracks. He turns around and sees Wilbur and Niki.   
"I was just coming back in." He lies through clenched teeth, walking back into the room.   
Wilbur nods unconvincingly, catching onto his lie easily.

"Right, go to bed then, it's past curfew." He motions towards the dorm rooms and walks out with Niki who gives him a small smile and empathetic shrug. Darryl stays in the common room and wonders if it's really worth sneaking out to just see a wall. He's seen magic walls before, like platform 3/4, or the wall that lead to hogsmead. 

Then again,,, they're waiting on him, and he's going to be late. So.. who knows if they'll wait? They might leave if he takes too long. Still be feels bad about it and he knows he just has to sneak out somehow.  
He groans and just wishes he never stumbled upon that room.

Oh well, he takes a seat against the wall and watches the clock again, waiting for a decent amount of time to pass. A reasonable amount of time, like 15 minutes. They should be far away by then, and Zak and A6d may still be on their own way of sneaking out. 

He's nervously looking at the time and humming impatiently. Hopefully Zak doesn't force them to sneak out more often. He likes sleeping next to Strawberry and knowing he won't get into any trouble.

***

Finally, it was time. Second times a charm he hopes, and walks out the portrait anxiously. He looks all around, triple checking everything, before finally deciding it was clear and walking down to the stairwell that was dimmly lit by torches.   
No sign of any prefects, thank goodness. He would love to take it slow and steady but frankly it's just too risky for that. So he runs up the stairs and almost falls off when they move before he's fully on them. He's getting clumsy but he's nervous and afraid so he's got a reason! 

He makes it to the top after what felt like forever and runs down to the end of the hall, obviously expecting to see Zak and A6d.   
Except, to his dispair, Wilbur, Eret, and Schlatt were all standing there dauntingly. They already have Zak and A6d with them, the two boys notice Darryl and smile half heartedly.   
"See, we knew about your little stunt with your friends earlier this month." Wilbur started out with the shake of his head, obviously disappointed that even after he warned Darryl, he still ended up sneaking out.

"Eret and I actually saw a couple of you but you got away. You disappeared behind this wall." Schlatt glared at the three of them.  
"So we just waited here again, and wouldn't you know it, you all are here once again." Eret wasn't looking down on them as much as the other two prefects were, instead he just seemed happy that they managed to catch the first years. Something told Darryl that this was sort of his own fault, for today, and that he didn't try being quiet when he ran from Eret that one time. 'what if's' flooded his mind and his legs began to shake and his anxiety kicked in.   
No one took notice as his lip trembled and his hands shook. 

"You three get two weeks worth of detention, starting next month." Wilbur spoke up, motioning for Darryl to stand in line with Zak and A6d. He managed to walk over with wobbly legs, already feeling out of breath. 

"And negative 15 points from each of your houses." Schlatt said with a grin that showed his pride clear as day.   
"Sorry Darryl, I guess you were right." Zak mumbled, Darryl had told him before that they shouldn't do this. He was too excited and curious to listen though. 

"Well it's ok, I still agreed." Darryl whispered back, not at all angry at either of them, how should they have known? His voice came out shakey as he fought the urge to cry.   
"I'll take you guys back to your dorms." Eret said, placing a hand on Zak's shoulder, making him walk ahead of them all.

"It was bound to happen I guess?" A6d said in his usual monotone voice. They nodded in agreement but stayed quiet as Eret led them to the Ravenclaw house first.   
"I expected this from Zak, he's really rambunctious for his age. From a Hufflepuff, not so much, same goes for a Ravenclaw but eh." Eret thought out loud, he's seen Darryl before, a very shy Hufflepuff. It was weird to see him sneaking out and hanging out with Zak of all people but that's just life. He thinks vaguely. 

"Go to bed, Vincent. Your prefect will be talking to you tomorrow." Eret ushered him and watched to make sure he went into his common room.

"Ok now Darryl then Zak." They were awfully quiet. The Hufflepuff house wasn't far so he dropped Darryl off, waited, then walked Zak back to their common room.   
When they watched Darryl walk off, Zak couldn't help but notice the suddenly obvious shake to his legs and the quick rise and fall of his chest. 

He remembers the same thing happening to Darryl on their first day when they got sorted. When he saw just how scared Darryl was, he knew he wanted to mess with him. Now for some reason it just made him feel bad.   
Probably because he's not the one causing it? Seems like a good reason.

***

Darryl started to cry when he walked into the common room, he felt stupid and he knew there was no reason to cry but he just couldn't help it. He wiped his eyes and walked up the stairs, opening up the door and getting into bed. He doesn't want to think of his punishment right now, he just wants to take a long sleep, maybe sleep through breakfast tomorrow. 

***

"Bad, wake up! We're gonna be late." Karl was trying hard to shake him awake, Darryl hadn't woken him up this morning so they both ended up missing first and second hour.  
Darryl opened his eyes and noticed that the sun was out and that it was time for Potions already.   
"Oh sorry Karl, you go ahead I'll catch up." He assures since it was his fault they were late, Karl hesitates before thanking him and leaving the room hurriedly. 

Darryl sighed and changed into fresh clothes, he really didn't want too but he really had no choice.   
He headed to class and entered, the teacher noticed his lateness but gave him slack, luckily. Finally something is going right.

He took his seat next to Zak and buried his face in his arms. "Dude what happened? You missed like three classes"   
Oh right, of course Zak noticed the person whom he always torments isn't there. 

"Meh." He made an incoherent noise that only made Zak laugh. "Meh?" He mimicked, causing Darryl to laugh once he heard how silly it sounded. 

"Look, you good?" Why was Zak being so thoughtful? "Don't worry im fine."   
Zak could tell he was far from fine, but he knew he wasn't as close as his other friends so he didn't seem to have a right to care as much. At least that's how he thinks friendships work, and from what Zak can tell, they aren't friends?  
"Ok but hey we'll be spending more time together next month, many a reason and I can't wait to troll you so hard." Zak laughed and poked at Darryl's hair. 

Even if Zak threatened to make him angry with his trolls, for some reason it just made his feel better. The trolls weren't ever harmful so he didn't hate them, and he would always end up laughing by the end of it. Zak was a constant in Darryl's life, something that wouldn't change and it was calming to know. Something he could cling on to because it'll never change for whatever reason, he's too good to change. 

"Thanks Zak." Darryl mummered, twisting a lock of hair between his fingers as a distraction. Zak was intruding his thoughts way too often now a days, not a particularly good thing.   
Zak could only look at him with a puzzled look, thanks for what? He hadn't even done anything.   
"Uhm sure no prob." He looked down at Darryl, his yellow clothes standing out nicely. The color yellow was starting to grow on him, a bit more than he would've liked.  
Maybe because yellow is warm like the sun, it's a nice color. As long as he doesn't associate it with Darryl then it's great and pretty.

On the other side of the room, Sapnap, George, and Karl couldn't help but share worried glances and think about how close the two seemed to be growing. Zak flaked on two of them and they worried he'd do the same to Darryl which would only end up breaking his fragile heart. Yes he's his own person but as his friends they felt as if they had a right to protect him from Zak's antics.   
Maybe it'll be best to have a chat about this at a later date, when it presents itself to become a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruh I keep getting these ideas I wanna write about but they're all such long story plots and I alr am writing this so I can't lol.   
> Hopefully if I keep up this pace of writing I can finish this at a decently quick pace :) hope you like this chapter even if it's a bit short.


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